Can't Help Falling
by MzShellSan
Summary: Three (3) times that Mai falls for Naru on accident, and the one (1) time she takes it literally. Written for Sleepdeprivedbarelyalived as day 8 of my FicMas event.


**25 Days of FicMas**

**Day:** Eight

**Dedication: **Eclanja

**Fandom: **Ghost Hunt

**Pairing: **MaiNaru

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ghost Hunt

**Can't Help Falling**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

**-1-**

The first time Mai found herself starting to fall for Naru was when he comforted her after they fell down the well on the after school hexer case.

Of course, he'd insulted her before that, and she'd felt like an idiot, but that was par for the course. If she was being honest with her, she would have been more concerned that he'd hurt himself if he had of been more considerate.

She'd been amazed, in that moment, about how he'd noted her patterns.

"_First you get depressed, then you get upset. But after that you start to feel better... and start to think positive."*_

Of course, she could have done without the comment on her predictability.

But while that moment was something she would often think of, it was what happened afterwards that really made her see Naru in a new light.

"_Let me introduce you to my pet."_

It had been such a sweet gesture (one that she wouldn't truly understand the gravity of until she later found out about his PK) and it had made sitting at the bottom of that terrifying hole all the easier.

But even more importantly, it was the first time she'd known for sure that it wasn't just her falling for a pretty face.

If she looked back on the moments that she'd felt her heart race before, they were often times when she'd ended up distracted by how good he looked and wasn't focusing on how he acted.

(He would often ruin the moment as well by being a jerk, but that wasn't a surprise.)

This time, however, they had both been covered in dust, sitting at the bottom of the manhole, and he'd been paler than usual. Nothing about the situation had made her take extra notice of how he looked, outside of the background worry that he was more hurt than he was letting on.

The only thing she'd truly been focused on was calming down until help arrived, and then Naru's pet.

Even thinking back on it now, she giggled at how he'd acted – almost childlike in how he'd showcased his talent. For the first time – he'd felt truly real to her.

**-2-**

The second time Mai found herself falling for Naru, was when he apologised to her after the case at Yasu's school. Of course, his smile had been engraved in her mind. She wouldn't deny how handsome he looked – it was a factual statement at this point. (She was certain he would agree. Narcissist.)

But even more than the smile, she found his apology running through her mind on repeat that night when she was trying to fall asleep, the words flowing through her mind over and over again.

There was something almost gentle about the way that he'd handled her in that moment, a stark contrast to the way he usually acted – so much so that for a moment she thought she'd been dreaming.

But she hadn't been dreaming, and she could only conclude from his own words that he must _care. _On some level, Naru had dubbed her as important enough to feel bad for upsetting her.

"_Because Mai is very considerate of others... it must have been very painful, I'm sorry."**_

It was a good reminder on how well Naru had come to know her. He understood how her mind worked and he had been willing to deal with her anger if that meant not giving her false hope.

Idiot.

If he had just been honest with her, told her that there were no guarantees... well, she probably still would have gotten her hopes up.

Sighing, she tossed over in bed. There was a soft warmth in her chest that she wasn't familiar with, something so much more than happiness.

He was still an idiot.

**-3-**

The third time she'd found herself falling for Naru was on the Urado case, immediately after her dream.

It was such an important moment for her to look back on.

Naru had offered her tea as a form of comfort and had cared about how she'd felt after such a terrifying dream.

Of course, he'd asked for the details soon after, but even then, he'd been uncharacteristically gentle, and she'd been unable to shake the way that made her feel.

Important.

Cared for.

_(Loved.)_

It wasn't something she was used to. So long living alone had stopped her from relying on people when things like this happened, and yet he'd been there.

And he'd cared.

**-+1-**

It had been months since she'd realise how far she'd fallen. Time had flown by and there had been plenty of moments between herself and Naru that had made her fall even harder, even though she was already so far gone that she wasn't sure what to do.

Or at least – she wasn't sure what to do when it came to her relationship with Naru.

Right in this moment, however, her hand clutched in his while he tried to pull her up, while the spirit below her tried to pull her down. She knew exactly what to do.

Naru must have noticed something change on her face – he knew her so well.

"Don't you dare, Mai," he hissed.

She smiled at him, ignoring the way her arm and leg both hurt from being strained.

"You know me, Naru. I never like being told what to do."

And with that, she let go; not surprised when, without her additional grip, hold Naru's hand slipped from her own only moments later.

She wouldn't be the reason he got hurt again – not this time.

It was an odd sensation, falling like this. She'd never really taken the time in the past to notice it, but now that she was thinking about it, she could definitely understand why the phrases about being love always involved 'falling'.

As darkness enveloped her, she noted absently that hitting the ground had hurt considerably less than she'd expected – but perhaps that was the delirium talking.

Letting her eyes fall shut, she allowed her mind to go quiet and drifted off.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was days later before she awoke again, and when she did, she took a moment to study Naru's profile while he seemed unaware of her gaze.

The first thing Mai noted was the dark circles under his eyes and how swollen they looked. She felt a pang of guilt because she was almost positive that they were her fault.

The second thing Mai noted was a lack of bandages. Naru was fine, and she was more than willing to bear the guilt if that meant she'd managed to keep him safe – just this once.

Ultimately it was a small price to pay.

She was prevented from studying him further when her eyes got caught in his own blue ones, and suddenly she felt like she was falling all over again.

It was a short fall though, because almost immediately she noted how angry he looked.

Well, angry was an understatement.

_Furious_ would be more accurate.

"You absolute _idiot_."

She winced at the rage in his tone but offered a smile, not at all deterred by his glare.

"So, what else is new?" she joked, voice coming out throaty from lack of use.

Did she mention that even in his anger, Naru looked amazing? Because he definitely did.

"I should fire you for pulling that stunt."

Mai shrugged, smile falling away as she tried to be indifferent to the idea despite the way it made her heart ache.

"If that's what you think is best."

"You're not even going to argue with me?"

For the first time since she'd shouted at him for apologising to her, Naru looked truly surprised and unsure of how to handle her response.

"I never win an argument with you. I don't _want_ you to fire me, if that's what you're asking, but if that's what you feel you have to do, then I'll accept it." For now, at least.

Just like that, the Naru's anger seemed to drain, and all that was left was the most pained look she had ever seen him wear.

"I'm not going to fire you, even though I should," he admitted finally. "I don't want you to get hurt."

It sounded like the last part hurt him to admit, and it made her smile a little again. "And I didn't want to see you get hurt because of me."

"I would've been fine."

Mai snorted. Her throat was starting to hurt from speaking so much after she'd spent so long no using it, but she pushed forwards. "Maybe. But I wasn't willing to risk it."

"And I wasn't willing to risk _you._"

It was clearly an outburst, and for a moment her false indifference fell away. Staring at him with wide eyes, she waited for Naru to say anything – undermine what he'd said or take it back.

He didn't say a thing.

Swallowing thickly, she struggled to figure out how to respond.

"I-"

"I shouldn't have riled you up. You're meant to be resting still. I'll speak more with you tomorrow on this subject."

Through her shock, Mai numbly noted that Naru was running away from this. He was running away from what he'd just said and if she didn't do something then they would probably never talk about it again.

Even still, it wasn't until he was almost to the door of her hospital room that her body caught up with her mind. Throwing the covers from herself, she stumbled, almost ripping the IV from her arm. Just as quickly as she'd gotten up, she found herself tilting towards the floor, her body not recovered enough to take her weight yet, especially that quickly.

Shutting her eyes, she waited for her body to hit the floor, on the re-open them in shock when the pain didn't come.

Flushing, she was positive that if her body would have co-operated she would have jumped away because Naru was currently the only thing between herself and the ground. His arm around her waist was keeping her from crashing into the floor.

"Are you capable of not being an idiot for even a _minute_?" he hissed.

Mai swallowed, for once ignoring the bait as he helped her to sit on the bed. When he turned to leave again, her hand clutched at his wrist.

"Why weren't you willing to risk me?"

"Mai-"

"Why weren't you willing to risk me, Naru?"

"You're an idiot."

"And you're avoiding the question!" she snapped, her own irritation finally starting to rise.

"Because I love you," he blurted finally. "Are you happy now?"

Instead of being stunned like she would have been in any other situation, Mai smiled, wide and honest. "Yes, I am, because I love you too, you jerk."

It's silent for a moment before Naru shakes his head. "Impossible."

"_You're_ impossible. I love you, and you love me. Now who's being stupid."

"You are," Naru scoffed, but his eyes were soft, and his words were fond, so she let it slide, instead moving her hand so that his own dwarfed it.

And if he clutched back a little harder at the memory of the last time they'd held hands, Mai didn't complain.

Later, they would have to talk more. They'd have to discuss why he thought her love of him was impossible, and they'd have to talk about their feelings with more clarity, but for now?

For now, this was enough.

**-0-0-0-0-0-**

*This, and the following quote are both from Volume 3 of the manga.

**This is a direct quote from the translated light novel. It's at the very end of Volume 4, Chapter 5.


End file.
